


Reflections

by triggerlil



Series: Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry potter has a manbun, M/M, Mirror of Erised, Mutual Pining, Originally Posted on Tumblr, POV Draco Malfoy, Pining, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22916086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triggerlil/pseuds/triggerlil
Summary: There's something at Hogwarts that Harry wants to show Draco, and there's something Draco feels that he doesn't quite know how to put into words.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Tumblr Prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660129
Comments: 25
Kudos: 291





	Reflections

The Hogwarts Express rumbled over the train tracks, sleepy puffs of smoke arching behind it, the sky clear and blue.

“It feels strange to be back,” Draco mused, looking out the window with the same curiosity as when he was eleven, admiring the Scottish landscape as if he hadn’t watched it rush past a hundred times.

“You’ll love it, they’ve done an amazing job of the restorations,” Harry responded, not taking his nose out of the latest edition of the Quibbler. It was easy enough for him to say, having been a teacher there for the past ten years. He had been there for the rebuild, helped the new Headmistress bring the castle back to its former glory, brick by brick. If Draco had seen this scenery hundreds of times, felt this bend around the mountains, then Harry had felt it over a hundred-thousand. 

It wasn’t that Draco was nervous, not exactly. He had stopped wandering the castle in his nightmares, had stopped waking up to the sound of fire in his ears. His last memory of Hogwarts was himself, his mother, and his father walking away from it. He hadn’t looked back. A small part of him still felt that the war lived on there, raging on behind him, and as long as he never looked back, it always would. So, it was probably a good thing that Harry had come pounding on his door, requested that he get his head out of his depressed arse and apply to be a Potion’s Master post-haste. 

Harry, for what it was worth, had both changed immensely and not at all. He had the same round, wire-framed glasses, but he had let his hair grow long, pulling it back into a messy bun. It was surprising how structured his jaw had become, how striking his features were when they weren’t hidden in a mass of dark curls. He seemed fine now with displaying his scar—the forked lightning that spread across his forehead, dipping down across his right eye and over the bridge of his nose—instead of attempting to hide it under an untameable fringe.

Draco also had to admit that the red and mahogany robes that Harry now sported were… arresting. The upturned collar and flowing sleeves gave him a very academic look that made Draco’s spine tingle.

“What does one do as a professor while it’s still the summer?” Draco asked, sitting back with his arms crossed. Harry looked up over his magazine, and Draco felt his composure dip at the way Harry’s green eyes glinted with promise. 

“Well, besides getting your office set up and meeting the other professors, there’s something I want to show you.” 

“Show me?” 

“Yes, something I found again recently.” 

“Found again?” 

“Yup, I thought I’d never see it again, but it just turned up a few days ago.” 

“What is it?”

“Well, I can’t tell you that, can I?” 

“I—Why not?” 

Now Harry’s eyes truly twinkled, “It would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?” 

And nothing Draco told himself on that train ride was remotely close to what it ended up being. It wasn’t a beast nor a Dark artifact; it wasn’t a beautifully decorated room with only one bed, nor a dinner date for two. He found himself standing in an abandoned classroom cloaked with protective magic, looking into a mirror in dire need of a scourgify. The golden frame had turned dark, the glass smudged around the edges and streaked through the center. 

“You’re showing me a mirror?” Draco asked, appraising it with his arms crossed as Harry lit the surrounding lamps with his wand.

“I guess so,” he smiled, and Draco rolled his eyes.

“This isn’t exactly the welcome back to Hogwarts that I expected, but I suppose it’s better than getting chased out of the castle.” 

“You didn’t seriously think you wouldn’t be welcome here?” Harry asked, concern flitting across his face. 

“I’m an ex-Death Eater, Potter. If you hadn’t noticed, people don’t like that.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “You’re also the most competent potions master in Wizarding Britain, if not the world.” 

“I think I’m a tad more than competent, thank you.”

“Well whatever you are, get in front of this mirror,” Harry said, and he pulled Draco towards him. They stumbled into each other, and Draco’s breath caught in his throat as he looked at their reflection; they seemed to fit together perfectly. A lump began forming in his throat; knowing Potter would fit perfectly in his arms seemed to make it hurt just a bit too much. They looked so complimentary, Draco’s dark green robes and Harry’s deep red, that he had to look away. 

“What’s wrong? What do you see?” 

“Just us,” Draco said, his voice cracking. Merlin. He cleared his throat and pulled his arm away, straightening up. Where was his pride? (Oh right, in Azkaban with his father). “It’s a mirror, Potter. What did you expect?”

Harry’s gaze seemed to be picking Draco apart, piece by piece, and he felt a blush begin to creep over his cheeks.

But then Harry turned towards the mirror, face unreadable. “I see us, too.” 

Draco looked back at their reflection. They seemed happy somehow, in a way he hadn’t expected. 

“This mirror,” Harry began, voice quiet, “shows what you desire most in the world. I used to see my parents.” 

Draco had to wrestle to keep his expression blank. He stared at himself in the mirror, refusing to meet Harry’s gaze. 

“And now you just see us,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. His reflection seemed so content to just stand next to Harry, and of course, that was why. Of course it wasn’t just a mirror.

“I just see us.” 

“Oh.” _Oh_. “What does that mean, Potter?” 

But Draco knew what it bloody well meant. It had always been Harry for him, from the moment they had met in Madame Malkin’s, to the moment in Eighth year when they had become tentative friends, to falling asleep on each other’s sofas in their twenties, and now. _Now_. Thirty-something odd years, both professors at Hogwarts, still sporting scars from their past—and apparently, it had always been Draco for Harry, too. 

When Harry turned to him, green eyes fucking beaming behind his glasses, Draco could do nothing but lean forward, grab Harry by the front of his robes, and press their lips together. Harry brought his arms around Draco, and it felt so good to finally come together. 

It had always been Draco and Harry, and it would always be Draco and Harry. Two sides of the same coin; one reflection in the same mirror. Forever. 

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE mirror of erised fics, so I decided to contribute one of my own! This was originally [a prompt on tumblr](https://triggerlil.tumblr.com/post/190936108790), if you like please leave a comment/kudos or like/reblog the post!! Thank you so much <3


End file.
